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Wednesday, November 9, 2016

For the first restoration/repair work of Torino Time, featuring my 1971 Ford Torino 500, I tackle that damn door. As I mentioned in the Torino Time intro, the driver side door stopped working from the outside while the engine was being worked on. I assumed this would be an easy fix, and something that I really wanted fixed soon, so that’s what I tackled first.

First step was removing the door panel. It was a couple screws and some bolts. I was not prepared for the bolts holding the armrest in, but, whatever! I got them off after some time.

I knew that something had just come disconnected. When I finally got the panel off, I found out that this had happened before, because the zip tie holding the mechanism in place from when it became disconnected in the past had broken. If it was good enough for the previous owner, it was good enough for me! One zip tie later, and I could use my door again.

It wasn’t as good of a zip tie as the one that broke, so it will break again, but at least I know it can be fixed again! Aren’t old cars great? Check out the video for the full adventure.

There is still so much more to do with this car, but I would hope that you join me in this adventure. Want to find out what I do next? Follow the series on this blog, or check out our YouTube channel. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, and be sure to follow us on Twitter for some exclusive content and updates about what will be happening to this car next! Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Well, here’s a different one for you. I bought a 1971 Ford Torino 500. I have actually had this car for about seven months now, but I have really only been driving it for about a week. Why, you may ask? Because after about a week of owning it, she burst into flames. Yeah.

Anyway, here we are. I hope that you follow me on my path to restoring this car. It’s not going to be a full top to bottom restoration. There is too much to do, and I don’t want to put that much money into it. However, much of this stuff I have never done before, and I’m new to carbureted engines to being with, so this will be a learning experience.

The good news about this car is that it runs and drives. That’s pretty much where the good news stops.

Rust has plagued this car. The trunk pan is rusted through, which includes the gas tank (I plugged eight holes in). The floor boards don’t exist. The roof is starting to go, though thankfully that is only surface rust for now. Also, there are rust holes here and there throughout the body.

After the car caught on fire (due to a leaky fuel line), to did get some engine work done before I started this little series. The 302 V8 now as an electric HEI distributor, a new carburetor, new air filter, new spark plugs, and new spark plug wires.

There is still some work to do under there: new battery terminal to replace the one the fire department broke off, fix or replace the fan shroud (probably fix since a new one costs too much), and just tidy it up and clean it.

The interior, besides the rust, needs to be looked at for small and big things such as the passenger window crank knob, dome light lens, gauge lights and glass, and stuff like that. Also, the driver side door no longer opens from the outside ever since I left it for the six months.

There is a lot to do with this car, but I would hope that you join me in this adventure. Follow the series on this blog, or check out our YouTube channel. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, and be sure to follow us on Twitter for some exclusive content and updates about what will be happening to this car next! Thanks for stopping by.